Painting Our Story
by mxyormills
Summary: Emma Swan is an extremely successful artist living in New York City with her two children. Regina Mills is the CEO of one of the most famous fashion magazines in the world, The Magnet. The two women can't seem to stay away from each other, but they are both intensely afraid of commitment. INCOMPLETE/NOT UPDATING AT THE MOMENT
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm writing** **this story to give back to the Swanqueen community, because you guys have done so much for me. I'm not a particularly good writer, and also, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I really enjoyed writing the first chapter, so I think I'm gonna keep at it! Please leave a review, it would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!**

Emma Swan grinned. Her three-year-old daughters' golden curls bounced as her mother threw her high into the air. She caught her and held her close.

"I love you so much, baby girl", she whispered into the child's hair.

Annabelle squealed, and wriggling out of her mothers' arms, she said "Mommy, stop being silly". Emma laughed and ruffled her daughters' hair.

"Mommy, you love Anna more than you love me?" enquired Oliver, Annabelles twin, while he sat in the corner of the green playroom, surrounded by lego. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Oliver, you know mommy loves you both equally, how many times do we have to go over this?" she said, while scooping the three-year-old boy up into her arms. He kissed her nose, and her smile grew wider. She was content. Just as she was sitting down to help her children build their lego, the doorbell rang.

"Auntie Ruby is here!" the twins shrieked in unison, jumping up and running out of the playroom in their excitement.

"Gee, you'd think she's Santa Claus or something" Emma mumbled good naturedly, chasing after her children. She found them waiting at the door, because in their excitement, they'd forgotten that a) mommy had strictly forbidden them from opening the front door, even when they knew who was on the other side, and b) neither of them were tall enough to reach the door handle. Emma reached over their heads and opened the door. Immediately, Anna and Oliver ran head first into Rubys legs.

"Hey there kiddos!" the tall brunette exclaimed, laughing after she'd gotten over the shock of having two three year olds clinging to her legs.

"Thanks for babysitting tonight Rubes, you're a lifesaver", Emma said gratefully, while ushering her friend into her apartment.

"Of course, Emma. Besides, it's your big night! The only thing I'm upset about is that I'm not gonna be there to see it!" Ruby said, while simultaneously greeting the children by stooping down to the floor and hugging each of them.

"Oh please. It's not like you're missing out on anything", Emma said.

"My best friends' art work is being featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the second time, may I add, and I'm missing the opening! Of course I'm missing out!" Ruby exclaimed. Emma laughed, and thanked Ruby for her unwavering confidence. Then, she knelt down and told her children that she was just going upstairs to get dressed, and she'd be down in half an hour to say good-bye. They barley even glanced at her, too enthralled with Auntie Rubys' newest gadget, a futuristic looking iPad. Emma smiled, remembering the days when the twins couldn't bear to be separated from their mother for more than two minutes without hysterics. She bounced up the stairs, eager to get the "getting dressed" part of the night done with. She was eager to get the entire night with over with actually. She loved creating her art, and she was till in shock that people considered it good enough to be placed in one of the most prestigious museums in the world, but the people who frequented her openings made her uncomfortable. They were New York Citys' richest, and Emma couldn't help but feel out of place. Emma opened her closet, and stared at the vast array of clothes she'd accumulated over the years. She groaned, remembering that her publicist, Belle, had told her to go for the "sexy" look. After digging through her old clothes for what seemed like hours, she finally found a tight red dress that she hoped would be up to Belles very high standards. She should've gone shopping, and she knew it, but she'd wanted to spend as much time as possible with the twins, because she knew the upcoming weeks were going to be hectic. She did her makeup, keeping it light, as she didn't know how to do anything else, and curled her hair as she usually did. She threw on a pair of strappy black heels, and looked herself over in the mirror. Emma Swan looked damn good, and she knew it too. She smirked.

"Moooooommyyyyy", Emma heard one of her children wail from downstairs. She smiled, happy that at least one of the twins remembered her existence, and picked up her clutch, heading down the stairs to sort out the problem, and to bid her children goodnight before she left for the evening.

* * *

As Emma stepped out of her yellow Audi A4, she was swarmed by reporters. Her publicist, Belle, ran up to her, trailed by two large security guards.

"So, Emma, what can you tell us about your new pieces? What is the theme behind your new works?" one of the reporters questioned. Belle grabbed Emma's arm, trying to pull her towards the entrance of the museum.

"Uh… Well…" Emma started, unsure of what to say. In truth, her new pieces were based off of nothing. They were just things that she'd created in her mind and put down on canvas. She wasn't sure if that would be a satisfactory answer for these inquisitive reporters though.

"Do these new paintings have anything to do with Aspeth?" another reporter asked, and, with that, Belle pushed Emma towards the security guards and turned around to face the sea of reporters.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Swan doesn't have time to answer your questions tonight", Belle snapped. Emma knew it wasn't in Belles nature to be rude, but she also knew that Belle would do anything to protect her from any mention of her previous girlfriend, Aspeth Mai. Aspeth was a movie star, and one of the most famous women in Hollywood, but Emma had known her long before she'd become Americas Sweetheart. They'd grown up together. The money that Emma had made by selling some of her first paintings was the money that had gotten Aspeth through acting school, the money that had gotten Aspeth her first head shots, and the money that had put food in Aspeths mouth and a roof over her head for five years. The moment Aspeths first movie became the number one hit of the year, Aspeth had broken up with Emma. That night was the night that the twins had been conceived, in some bar, with some guy, whose name Emma couldn't even remember. Emma's hand was balled into a fist, just thinking about Aspeth. It had been over four years and Emma still got angry every time her ex girlfriend was mentioned.

"Emma. Snap out of it. Tonight is your night. Don't let that women ruin it for you. You've let her ruin so much already, don't let her take this as well." Belle whispered gently into Emma's ear, as they entered the museum.

"You're right, I know you're right", Emma said, looking at her friend gratefully. The pair spent the next two hours mingling with the crowd that had come to ogle Emma's artwork. Some of the crowd had even come to ogle Emma, as she was considered artwork herself. At nine o'clock, the party moved to a nightclub down the street, called The Cats Cradle, which was, at the time, the most elite nightclub in New York City. Emma entered the club with a dopey grin on her face. The night had been successful so far, and all thoughts of Aspeth Mai had left her mind. It was early, and the club had been pretty much empty before Emma and her crowd had arrived. Now, New York City's elite filled up the bar stools. The music was turned on, a loud, pulsing beat, and Emma gravitated towards the dance floor. Her friend, August, a wealthy heir to his fathers shoe company, had convinced her to take a couple shots, and as a result she was slightly buzzed. She located a pretty red head, and asked her if she wanted to dance. The red head, realizing that Emma Swan, the Emma Swan, had just asked her to dance, agreed enthusiastically.

"Did you know that Regina Mills, the CEO of The Magnet magazine is here?!" the red head screeched into Emma's ear after forty five minutes of slowly grinding on one another in silence. Emma's head shot up.

"Is she here for my opening, or is she here on her own?" Emma asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She'd been keeping tabs on the Mills woman for over two years, after meeting her for the first time at her first opening at the MET. They had only talked briefly, but long enough for Emma to become fascinated by the gorgeous woman. They hadn't spoken since, but Emma had noticed the CEO of the famous fashion magazine at a handful of other high class events since. She hadn't been able to get up the courage to speak to her, and she'd never been able to figure out why. She knew it wasn't because Regina was stunningly beautiful, that had never stopped Emma on any of her previous conquests, but she had a feeling that Regina was not the type of woman to let herself become a conquest.

"She was at the museum, and she came over here with the rest of the group. Did you know that The Magnet is hiring interns? I've applied. Working for Regina mills, THE Regina Mills would be a dream come true. Did you know that…" Emma stopped listening to the red head, as she turned her head in search of the brunette. The shots she'd taken were starting to hit her a little harder than expected, and she was feeling on top of the world. She finally located Regina, sitting on a bar stool, talking to Graham Humbert, a successful lawyer. She raised her eyebrows, realizing that if she wanted to approach Regina, she would have to acknowledge Graham, which may be a little awkward, given that he had been one of her "conquests". Gathering up all her courage, she excused herself from dancing with the red head, and made her way over to the barstools where Regina and Graham were sitting.

"Um… Hi. Graham" she nodded in his direction, and then turned to smile at Regina. Regina smiled, and was about to say something, when Graham cut in.

"Emma! You never called me back! You promised you would!" Graham said, grinning, knowing he was embarrassing Emma.

"Yeah…. I'm sorry, about that. You know, the whole thing." Emma said, awkwardly. Then, clearing her throat, she pointed towards the red head, still dancing in the middle of the dance floor, and said "that girl over there was looking for you! She was telling me about all her legal troubles, and I told her I knew just the person to help!" Graham raised his eyebrows at the obvious lie, but made no further comment, choosing instead to vacate the barstool he was using, and pecking Regina on the cheek, he headed out towards the dance floor.

"I've been wondering when you'd finally come and say hello", Regina said, with a smirk. Emma's head snapped back around and she stared at the woman. She smiled, sheepishly, taking a seat on the barstool that Graham had recently vacated.

"Yeah, well, it's been a busy night I guess", Emma explained.

"I wasn't just referring to tonight, Miss. Swan", Regina said, still smirking. Emma's eyes widened. Just when she was about to explain why she hadn't approached Regina over the past couple years, Regina spoke up.

"So. You and Graham, huh?" Regina said, teasingly. Emma chuckled, her cheeks growing warm.

"I'm sure you have a much longer line of men wondering why you haven't called them back." Emma said with a grin. Regina's eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me, Miss. Swan?" she said, in a menacing voice. Emma almost choked on her own spit, realizing what she'd just implied.

"Regina. Shit. No, that's not what I meant. You know what I meant! Fuck. I'm so sorr-" Emma started to ramble, until Regina cut her off.

"It's quite alright Miss. Swan. I understand what you meant. However, I would appreciate no further mentions of my sex life, at least until we've gotten to each other a little better", Regina said with a wink. Emma almost choked again. She gave Regina a weak smile, wondering what the beautiful woman in front of her could possibly mean. Just as Emma was going to ask Regina if she would like a drink, her cell phone rang.

"Excuse me" Emma muttered, fishing her phone out of her clutch.

"Of course", Regina said with a smile. Emma glanced at the screen, and saw that it was Ruby calling. She answered the call, and greeted her friend, asking if there was anything wrong.

"Um…" Ruby started, "Oliver is having a hard time going to sleep. I think you'd better come home", Ruby said, in a slightly panicked voice.

"Alright Rubes, I'm on my way. You know he gets this way sometimes. It has nothing to do with you, he just needs his mom. I'll be there in twenty minutes" Emma said. Ruby thanked her and apologized for ruining Emma's night. After reassuring her friend that she'd ruined nothing, Emma hung up the phone and stood up.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to run", Emma said bashfully, looking down at Regina.

"Of course, I understand. We'll catch up another time. Your art was stunning tonight, by the way", Regina said, looking up at the blonde woman. Emma grinned at the compliment, blushing for the second time that night.

"Thank you. Maybe I could paint the cover for the next issue of The Magnet, huh?" Emma teased. Regina laughed, and Emma felt goose bumps crawl up her arms. Regina's laugh was beautiful.

"We'll see about that Miss. Swan. Now go put your son to bed." Regina answered with a smile.

"Good night, Regina." said Emma, turning to leave. And then, as an afterthought, she called back to the brunette, "Oh, and call me Emma." She didn't notice Regina Mills staring at her ass as she exited The Cats Cradle, too caught up in thoughts of what might've happened if Ruby hadn't called.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: It took an unbelievably long time to write this very mediocre chapter, oops! I've already started the next chapter, and I'm liking it a lot more than tis chapter, so stay tuned! It will be posted much faster than this one, I promise! Nobody reads authors notes, why am I even bothering lmao? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

 **Rated M for later chapters.**

Emma woke up the next morning with a raging headache. She grabbed the Advil that she'd thoughtfully left out for herself the previous evening. Getting out of bed, she checked the time on her phone, and groaned when she realized it was only 6:30. She knew the twins wouldn't be awake for another hour, so she decided to take this time to do a little workout. Emma quickly removed her customary nightwear, which consisted of some underwear and an old tee shirt that was three sizes too big. She then put on a sports bra and some tights. She made her way down stairs to the kitchen and ate an energy bar, while preparing herself a smoothie. She drank half of it, and left the rest for after she exercised. As she made her way down the hallway to the small work out room, she collected her children's scattered clothing and toys, smiling to herself. The twins were messy, and liked to live in the moment, much like their mother. Emma was learning to get better at picking things up behind her, but Anna and Oliver were definitely not.

* * *

When Emma finished her short workout forty-five minutes later, she could already hear one of the twins starting to get anxious to get out of bed. She cautiously opened the door to the large room that her kids shared, and peeked around the doorframe with a huge grin on her face.

"Momma!" Annabelle yelled, jumping out of her single bed and running into her mother's arms. Oliver was quick on her heels, not about to let his sister steal away all of their mothers attention.

"Good morning babies. Did you sleep well?" Emma asked.

"Yup." Oliver said, and then, as an afterthought, he said "Ew, mommy, you _stink_." He wrinkled his nose to show he meant it. Anna broke into a fit of giggles, while Emma threw her son a playful glare.

"Alright. I have to get cleaned up, so why don't you two bring some toys into my room where I can watch you while I take a quick shower, okay? And then we'll have breakfast at Grannys, if you're good!" Emma said, knowing that mentioning the kids favorite diner would have them acting like angels for the rest of the morning. They both nodded eagerly, and rushed towards their playroom in search of toys, chattering about what they were going to eat at Grannys. Emma leaned against the doorframe of the playroom, a blissful smile on her face, watching her children teeter and totter all over the place. She thought back to the day she'd realized she was pregnant, remembering how distraught she'd been, and thanked her lucky stars that she'd decided to keep her babies. The circumstances had been unfortunate, but she was unbelievably grateful that she'd stayed strong and gone through with the pregnancy. A fight between the twins over a teddy bear brought Emma out of her reverie and back to reality.

"Oliver, that's _mine_!" Annabelle screeched, attempting to tug a green teddy bear out of her brothers' hands. Just as she was about to smack Oliver, her mother swooped in and grabbed the teddy bear.

"Alright you two. If you can't play nicely, we won't be able to go to Grannys later…" Emma said. The kids immediately stopped glaring at each other, and went back to collecting toys. Once they had chosen a sufficient amount of teddy bears and legos, they trio moved into the master bedroom. Annabelle and Oliver dumped their toys on the floor, and plopped down to start playing with them. Emma smiled at them, and then entered her bathroom, making sure the door was slightly ajar so she could have a clear view of her children. She took a quick shower, and changed into a pair of jeans and a tight white long sleeved tee shirt.

"Alright kiddos, are you ready to go?" she asked her children, re entering her bedroom. The twins looked up at their mother, with identical grins on their faces, and their bright green eyes shining.

"I want pancakes!" Oliver exclaimed, jumping up suddenly. His sister followed suit. Emma chuckled, scooping Oliver up into her arms, and taking Anna's hand.

"Okay, let's get you guys dressed", she said.

* * *

Half an hour later, the bell on the door of Grannys diner chimed. Annabelle entered first, clad in a red dress and black sandals. Her blonde curls, extremely long for a girl of her age, hung loosely down her back. She wore a huge grin on her face, and ran straight towards the bar stools. Emma was close behind her, Oliver in her arms.

"Anna, what did I say about letting go of my hand?" Emma asked, as strictly as she could, given that the child was already staring up at her with puppy dog eyes, apologetically.

"Sorry mama." Anna said, as sincerely as a three year old could possibly be. Emma smiled, and was about to tell her that she forgave her when Annabelle spoke up again.

"Can I have pancakes now?" she asked. Emma laughed, and nodded, taking Anna's hand again. Oliver, starting to get impatient wriggled out of his mothers' arms. Emma, still laughing, ruffled her son's dark brown hair.

"Emma! Oliver! Annabelle! My three favorite customers!" came a voice from behind the counter. Looking up from her two children, Emma spotted Ruby. The twins squealed, and started to sprint towards their honorary aunt, when they remembered that they weren't supposed to let go of their mother's hand. They both returned to Emma, looking guilty. Emma laughed, for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, and told them they could go ahead and say hi to Auntie Ruby. Emma and Ruby had become friends when Emma's best friend, Mary Margaret had introduced them, two years prior. Ruby was always willing to lend Emma a helping hand, and whether it was with helping move furniture into a new apartment, or babysitting, Ruby was always there. Mary Margaret and Emma had grown up together. They'd been best friends all their lives. Emma was truly grateful for the two women, and she wasn't quite sure what she'd do without them. The trio ordered, and took their seats in a booth in the far corner of the diner. They were busy coloring in the coloring books that Ruby had supplied them with. Oliver was violently scribbling on what used to resemble a horse, while Emma helped Annabelle fill in a flower.

"Mommy," Annabelle whined, "You're doing it wrong! It's supposed to be yellow in the middle, not orange!" And with that, the three year old snatched the crayon out of her mother's hand. Emma rolled her eyes at her bossy daughter. Just as she was about to beg her daughter for a chance to redeem herself, her phone pinged with a new text message. Emma unlocked her phone and saw that it was from Mary Margaret. It read:

 **Hey Ems. I didn't even get to speak to you last night! The art was amazing, and I am so proud of you. Even David was impressed, and you know how much he dislikes art. I'm so upset that we didn't get to talk. I barley even saw you! The last time I saw you, you were getting all cuddly with Regina Mills, and heaven knows I was not about to get involved it that conversation. By the way! There are already tabloids saying that the two of you are dating! Is that true?! You know how much she hates me Emma! Call me tonight and get me up to date.**

Emma sighed. The tabloids were obsessed with her relationships. She couldn't talk to a person without it being printed the next day that they were getting married. Minutes after Emma finished reading the message, the bell chimed, signaling that another costumer had entered the establishment. Emma looked up, and watched a stunningly beautiful woman enter the diner.

"Speak of the devil", Emma muttered to herself. She realized that the woman hadn't spotted her yet.

"Regina!" she called. The brunette's head snapped up, her brown eyes searching the restaurant for the source of the voice. When she finally found what she was looking for, recognition flitted across Regina's face. Regina made her way over to Emma's table, her six-inch heels clicking over the marble tile of the diners floor.

"Miss Swan." she said, greeting Emma with a tight smile. Looking towards the other side of the table, Regina noticed the twins, still coloring away, unworried by the fact that there was a complete stranger standing two feet away from them.

"Guys." Emma said, trying to grab the attention of her three year olds. They both looked up, still looking unconcerned.

"Hi." Annabelle said, looking at Regina, "My name is Annabelle. I'm three." Regina smiled, a more genuine smile this time.

"Hi, I'm Oliver." said Oliver.

"You're pretty. Momma, don't you think she's pretty?" Anna asked, turning to face her mother. Emma cleared her throat, shooting her daughter a look that clearly said, "be quiet". Regina laughed, a real laugh, the same laugh that had given Emma goose bumps the previous night.

"Hello children. My name is Regina. Thank you Annabelle, that's very sweet of you." Regina said. The twins grinned, and went back to their coloring.

"Twins?" Regina asked Emma.

"Yeah." Emma said, "So. Do you come here often? I've never seen you here before."

"No, actually. My assistant usually comes, but he's sick today. I'm just here to pick up my coffee, which seems to be ready," Regina answered, glancing at Ruby, who had just placed a take out cup full of coffee on the counter. "I need to go. I presume I'll see you around, eventually. Goodbye, Miss. Swan. " Regina added, with another tight smile.

"Oh. Okay. Bye, Regina!" Emma called, watching the older woman disappear through the door that she'd just come through, moments before. Regina's mood had seemed very different from the previous night, and Emma couldn't help but notice the slight coldness with which the brunette had greeted her.

* * *

That night, Ruby and Mary Margaret visited Emma at the apartment, arriving minutes after Emma had put the twins to bed. Emma poured them all a glass of red wine, and they took their drinks out to the large balcony that surveyed the city.

"I still can't believe you're living in a place with a view like this." Ruby stated, staring out at the expanse of New York City in wonder.

"I still can't believe how much it costs to live in a place with a view like this." Emma joked. The women talked for hours, teasing each other relentlessly. At eleven, the pair left, reminding Emma that she had to go into the office the following morning. Emma rarely went to the office. She worked from home, and she preferred it that way. She could keep an eye on the kids, work peacefully in her large studio that dominated the top floor of the penthouse apartment, and she could take a break whenever she wanted. She went into the office for the two weeks following the release of new art, at Belles insistence. Emma disliked being away from her children for hours at a time, and she only consented to the arrangement because Belle hardly ever asked her for favors. Emma went to sleep that night with a smile on her face, a day well spent with her babies.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just wanted to emphasize on the very close relationship between Gold and Emma, which will be important in this chapter. Sorry it's super short! I'm not completely happy with the ending, but I guess it's a "cliffhanger" lol. Oh well. I hope you enjoy, and PLEASE don't forget to review! I appreciate praise, but I also appreciate constructive criticism, so keep that in mind!**

 **Rated M for later chapters.**

The next morning was uneventful, until the new babysitter arrived. The twins woke up at seven, and the three of them spent the morning making waffles and getting dressed for the day. Emma warned them that a new woman would be coming to spend the day with them, but the children brushed her off, engrossed in other things, such as what color socks to wear. When nine o'clock rolled around, and the doorbell rang, Emma was already slightly irritated. She'd asked the new babysitter, whose name was Aurora, to arrive fifteen minutes early, so that she could be introduced to the children. Now, Emma only had twenty minutes to get to the office. The moment Oliver laid eyes on the new caretaker, he burst into tears and buried his head into Emma's leg. This outburst led to Annabelle tearing up as well. Emma comforted the twins as best she could, and left them both with a firm kiss and promise to be home in time for dinner. The moment she was seated inside her car, she texted Aurora, instructing her to text her with updates throughout the day. She arrived to work only five minutes late, and she smiled at the security guard as she entered the large StudioArt building. StudioArt was a large company that took young and promising artists and showed the world their talent. In the art world, they were extremely well known, and young artists strived to be noticed by the company. Emma had been with them for five years. They'd taken her under their wing before she'd earned any recognition, and she was still with them now that she was one of the most sought after artists of her time. Emma didn't really need the company for her art to be successful anymore, but she stayed with them because she felt like she owed it to the companies CEO, Gabriel Gold. Gold had been the one to first see potential in her, all those years ago. He'd become like a father figure to her, so much so that he and his wife Belle were Oliver and Annabelle's godparents. The moment Emma stepped into the building, she was met by Belle, who seemed worried.

"Hey Ems," she said, placing a large coffee into Emma's hands, "Can you come up to Gabe's office for a moment? There's something we need to speak to you about." Belle continued, still looking worried.

"What, are you guys firing me or something?" Emma joked.

"I wish." she said, elbowing Emma playfully. The pair made their way towards the elevator, entering among a crowd of young art students, who seemed extremely excited to be sharing an elevator with Emma Swan. The crowd slowly dissipated, the students reluctantly getting off on their respective levels. Emma and Belle went all the way up to the top floor, where Gold's office was. Belle opened the heavy glass door, the entrance to her husband's office, and gave Emma a nervous smile. Emma entered Gold's office, slightly confused, but curious as to what the couple had to tell her.

"Hello, Emma." Gold greeted, turning his black leather office chair so he was facing the two women. Emma smiled at him, and sat down in her customary seat, while Belle took a seat on the small sofa next to her.

"So. I take it Belle already told you that we have something to tell you?" Gold asked, once they'd all settled into their chairs. Emma nodded, cautiously. She was beginning to feel more and more like what Gold was about to tell her was bad news.

"I'm retiring." Gold stated, getting straight to the point. Emma's eyes shot up from where they had been resting on her folded hands.

"What?!" she exclaimed, in a shrill voice.

"Well, Emma, come on, I'm getting old, and-"

"You're fifty!" Emma interrupted. She turned to Belle and said, "You can't be okay with this! And please tell me you're not retiring too!" Belle laughed, and Emma scowled.

"Emma, of course I'm not retiring. If you'd just lis-" Belle started, until Emma interrupted, for the second time.

"Who's replacing you? There isn't anyone who's qualified enough in this building." Emma said, directing this at Gold.

"Well…" he started, "That's the second thing we wanted to tell you. We've had an offer from another company, and the board and I have decided to sell the company. The new CEO will come from that company." Emma stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening.

"Okay. Fine." She said, in monotone. Gold rolled his eyes, and looked to his wife for support.

"Emma, we know this is going to take some time to process, so if you want to take the day off, and figure it all out, that's fine with-" Belle started, only to be interrupted by Emma again.

"Nope. I'm fine." She said, while standing up, "I'm just gonna head down to my office, so if you need me, give me a shout." And with that, she turned on her heel and exited Gold's office.

"Well. I don't think that went very well, but I guess it could've been worse" Gold said, looking at his wife questioningly.

"You know her. She'll be back in no time to yell at you. You just wait." Belle said, a smile on her face.

* * *

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the door to Gold's office slammed open, and a very angry Emma barged in.

"Five years. We've worked together for five years. And this? This is it? You're just giving up on me? With no notice?!" Emma accused, starting off quietly, and progressively getting louder.

"Dearie, I'm not giving up on you. I'm tired of working, and I need a break…" Gold said, starting to ramble on about how he was tied of work, and he needed time for himself. "I'm always going to be around when you need help, with your art, with the kids, with anything." He finished. Emma sighed, and slumped down in her chair in front of his desk.

"I know. It just feels like you're abandoning me. Just like everyone else in my life." Emma admitted. Gold got up from his chair and walked around to the other side of his desk. He knelt down in front of Emma, and lifted her chin with his index finger.

"I am not leaving you. I'm going to be around you for the rest of m life, even after you get tired of me. I am going to watch over you, and those crazy kids of yours until my dying breath. My retirement will not affect our relationship Emma, I promise." Gold said, wiping away a single tear that had escaped Emma's eye. Emma wrapped her arms around Gold's neck, and let out a relieved breath.

"Okay." She said. 'Okay." She repeated.

* * *

Emma returned home that evening to two very happy three year olds. Aurora informed her that the pair had been angels all day, except for the little hiccup in the morning, and for that, Emma was grateful. The twins wanted Mac n Cheese for supper, and Emma happily obliged. Annabelle spilled an entire bowl of pasta on the floor, which Emma promptly cleaned up. Oliver spilled a bottle of shampoo all over the bathroom floor. Emma cleaned that up too. By the time she'd gotten the children into bed, Emma was exhausted after her emotionally draining day. While she cleaned the kitchen, Emma thought more and more about the new situation at work. She suddenly realized that she had no idea which company was buying StudioArt. She sent Belle a quick text, asking for the name of the new company and CEO. She hopped into the shower, relishing the feel of the hot water on her skin. She spent a good forty-five minutes in the shower and when she got out, the skin on her finger tips were wrinkled, just liked the twins' after they got out of a bath. She threw on an old tee shirt, and crawled into bed. While she was setting an alarm for the next morning on her phone, she noticed an unread text message from Belle, and realizing that Belle must of answered her previous question, Emma opened the message. It read:

 **The board of The Magnet Magazine are the ones who are buying the company. Regina Mills is CEO of The Magnet, which means she'll also be the CEO of StudioArt.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am SO sorry for taking so much time to publish this chapter! Life got in the way, yanno? I had exams, and also I was very busy being lazy ;) This chapter is short because I wrote it in two parts. I'll be publishing the next chapter as soon as I have this one up. The next chapter is from Regina's point of view (which I'm excited about because I love Regina) and something prettttty special happens in her life. Anyway. I'll stop rambling and let you read. Thank you to everyone who has followed and faved this story, it means more than you could ever imagine. PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **Rated M for later chapters.**

Emma fell asleep after tossing and turning in her bed for what seemed like hours. She woke up the next morning in a horrible mood, as did her children. The twins were both grumpy all morning, and Emma couldn't find it in herself to cheer them up. She left the two of them screaming and crying with a pale faced Aurora. By the time she'd reached her office, she was already feeling guilty about leaving the apartment in such an uproar, and called Aurora to apologize. She reassured the twins that she'd be home in time for dinner over the phone, which she hoped would appease them for the remainder of the day. Belle stepped into Emma's office just as Emma had seated herself behind her desk.

"How's it going?" Belle asked, her usual smile adorning her face. Emma shrugged, like a sulking child. Belle rolled her eyes and sat down. The spent the rest of the morning discussing publicity and Emma's up coming trip to Paris, where her art would be featured in the Louvre. By lunchtime, Emma was bored and ravenous. She considered going out to grab something to eat, but decided that she'd go upstairs and ask Gold's assistant, Neal, to go get her a meal. In the elevator on the way up to Gold's office, Emma stood next to three men in dark suits whom she'd never seen before. People from The Magnet, no doubt. Emma tried her best not to glare at them as the elevator made its way up to the top floor, but she was unsuccessful, and the three men seemed quite uncomfortable by the time they reached their destination. Emma knew she was being childish, but she also knew that she had to be cautious around the new additions to the company. She hated change, and The Magnet taking over StudioArt was certainly a big change. Emma's head was down, absorbed in her phone, reading a tweet that a fan had sent her, and didn't bother to look up when she entered Gold's office.

"Where's Neal?" she asked, still not looking up. "I need him to go grab me some-" Emma stopped abruptly, looking up and noticing for the first time that she and Gold were not the only ones in the room. A very harassed looking Regina Mills stood in front of Golds desk, facing Emma. Even in her surprise, Emma couldn't help but notice how good Regina looked. She dragged her eyes over Regina's body, from the six-inch heels, to the tight skirt, to the white dress shirt that showed just a little too much cleavage. Her lips were painted red, and her makeup was, as per usual, flawless. Emma felt guilty for appreciating the view, but she couldn't help it.

"Emma, dearie, hello!" Gold said cheerfully, grinning at her.

"Miss. Swan." Regina greeted, with no trace of a smile.

"Miss. Mills and I were just discussing the future of the company. You'll be happy to hear that she doesn't intend to change anything!" Gold said, still grinning. Emma mumbled something about how Regina Mills was a big change in the first place. She had nothing against the older woman; in fact, in any other situation she'd be enamored by the woman before her, but Emma wasn't interested in having this lady as her boss. She'd heard the stories, and she knew the artists that had occasionally been commissioned from StudioArt to do some art for The Magnet came back with stories of how horribly Regina Mills treated her employees. They called her the evil queen.

"What was that, Miss. Swan?" Regina asked in a sharp tone, catching Emma's mumbled sentence.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Emma said, looking right into Regina's eyes, and smiling serenely. She turned to Gold and asked about the whereabouts of his assistant. He waved her towards the break room, the smile never leaving his face. Emma shot one more glare in Regina's direction, and exited Gold's office. Regina, on the other hand, wasn't paying Emma any attention in the slightest. She seemed immersed in the work she had set out in front of her. Emma couldn't figure out why she was suddenly so averse to the brunette. Just a couple nights ago she was considering seducing the woman, and now she wanted nothing to do with her. Maybe it was because she liked to be in charge, and she couldn't be in charge if Regina was her boss. She hated the idea of Regina being able to tell her what to do. She groaned when she realized how attracted she was to the woman.

"Fuck. Of course I'm attracted to her. Of course I'm attracted to my fucking boss. Just fucking perfect." Emma muttered. When she reached the break room, she snapped at a very surprised Neal to go get her some lunch. Her revelation had put her in even more of a sour mood. By the time Neal returned with her customary lunch, a burger, root beer, and a bear claw, Emma had cooled off. She apologized to Neal for her previous behavior, and he accepted her apology graciously.

* * *

By the time she was ready to leave, Emma was exhausted, and she didn't even know why. She'd done pretty much nothing all day, except listen to Belle drone on and on about her upcoming trip to Paris. As she approached her Audi in the parking garage, she realized she forgotten her keys in her office.

"I'm just having a _marvelous_ day, aren't I?" she groaned, re entering the elevator to go fetch her keys. When she entered the elevator for the third time, keys in hand, she was so busy rummaging around in her bag looking for her phone she failed to notice that she wasn't the only occupant of the elevator.

"Miss. Swan." Regina greeted tonelessly. Emma jumped.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "Fuck Regina, you scared me."

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using such vulgar language around me. And, maybe if you looked where you were going, you wouldn't be so surprised all the time. This is the second time today that I've scared you." Regina stated, accompanied by a glare. Emma blinked. She hadn't expected Regina to actually say more than a few words to her.

"Yeah. Well." She mumbled, looking down at her feet. Regina gave her a curious look, but chose to remain silent. Emma's toes curled in her black leather boots, and she wanted nothing more than for the elevator ride to be over. They spent the next couple seconds in an awkward silence, and finally, the elevator stopped on the bottom floor. The women disembarked from the elevator, and Emma mentally groaned when she realized that Regina was going in the same direction as her. She spotted a black Mercedes Benz parked next to her yellow Audi on the far side of the parking garage, and immediately guessed that it was Regina's car. Of course it was Regina's car. Because this couldn't possibly get any more awkward. Emma was so busy avoiding looking at Regina, she dropped her keys. The sound bounced off the walls of the empty garage as the keys clattered to the ground. Of _course_ this could get more awkward. Regina looked over at her, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. Her full lips were turned upward, and she was _almost_ smiling. Almost. Emma sighed. The two reached their vehicles in silence. Just as Emma was about to close the door of her car, Regina cleared her throat.

"Miss. Swan." She called, "Gold told me that you're not the most enthusiastic about this change, and I'd just like to say that I hope we can work well together, and I am looking forward to doing so. It was pleasant talking to you at your opening the other night." Emma looked over at Regina. She nodded, and gave the woman a tight-lipped smile. She then started her car, and proceeded to pull out of the garage.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am well aware of how short this chapter is, and I'm sorry about that!** **As mentioned in the previous chapter, I wrote these two together, and the only reason they're separate is because the point of view changes. This isn't particularly well written, but I still love this chapter a lot. It's heartwarming. Hope you enjoy, xoxo, and don't forget to LEAVE A REVIEW!**

 **Rated M for later chapters.**

Regina Mills could not stop smiling. After her conversation with Emma Swan, she'd received a life changing phone call. Her papers had finally been approved, and she was about to legally adopt a baby boy. She'd been waiting for this day for over a year, and she couldn't believe that it had finally come. She drove straight to the adoption agency, eager to meet her child for the first time. All that the lady on the phone had been able to tell her about him was that he was two weeks old, he'd been abandoned on the side of the high way, and that he was nameless. Rage surged through Regina's entire body at the though of someone ever giving up a child that way, but she managed to calm herself down with thoughts of the life she was going to give her new son. Usually, an adopting parent would've had much more notice than what Regina was being given, but the lady on the phone had told her that this was an emergency situation, and that the child needed to be taken right away. She pulled into the parking lot of the adoption agency with a huge smile on her face. She made it to the front desk without breaking into a sprint, even though ever muscle in her body was urging her to go as fast as she possibly could. The receptionist directed Regina towards a small room, with children's paintings all over the wall. A woman and a man occupied the room. The man was holding a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket, and the woman was holding a stack of papers. The both had smiles on their faces. The man approached Regina, and handed her the little bundle. Regina's breath caught in her throat when she looked down into the face of her sleeping son. Regina Mills prided herself on not being an emotional woman, but she couldn't help it when a single tear rolled down her face.

"Henry." She breathed, thinking of her late father. She looked up at the two people who stood in front of her and said, "His name is Henry." The man and the woman smiled, and nodded. Henry was placed in a car seat while Regina signed all the necessary papers. Fifteen minutes later, Regina exited the building, car seat hanging from one arm, and diaper bag on another. She couldn't stop staring at the little bundle that was now hers. She strapped the car seat into the back seat of her car, taking extra time to make sure it was secure. She brushed her hand softly over Henry's face in disbelief. He was still fast asleep, but his long brown eyelashes fluttered at Regina's touch. She quickly withdrew her hand, not wanting him to wake up before they reached home. On the way to the apartment, she called her assistant Sidney, and instructed him to bring her as many baby supplies as he possibly could within the next hour. She suddenly realized just how unequipped she was to take care of a baby, but refused to let herself panic. Sidney was brining a crib, clothes, and a wide range of diapers. The adoption agency had provided her with the car seat, some diapers, and the little blue onsie that Henry was currently wearing. They'd also provided her with a solution that she was supposed to mix with milk to feed him. Regina found herself driving much slower than usual, unconsciously already very protective of her precious cargo. By the time Regina made it up to her penthouse apartment, car seat in hand, her assistant Sidney had already arrived. He'd used his own key to enter the apartment, and had already set up a spacious white crib in Regina's bedroom. At first, Regina was annoyed that he'd gone into her private room, but her annoyance evaporated when she realized how much work Sidney had saved her. Sidney quickly showed Regina where he'd stored the diapers, and the small selection of clothing that he'd purchased, before leaving. Finally. Regina was alone with her son. He still hadn't woken up, but when Regina lifted him out of his car seat, his eyes fluttered open. A tear dripped down Regina's tan face, and for the second time that day, Regina Mills found herself crying with happiness. She couldn't believe that after all this time she had a child. Henry stared up at her, with his hazel eyes. Regina stroked his wispy hair, and pulled him close


End file.
